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<title>Arson is an enemy of mine. by Dangerousarthropod</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573056">Arson is an enemy of mine.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangerousarthropod/pseuds/Dangerousarthropod'>Dangerousarthropod</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arson, Everyone is mentioned, Hurt, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:27:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,170</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangerousarthropod/pseuds/Dangerousarthropod</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A harrowing call leaves Captain Matt Casey re-evaluating his choices, how he made it this far with this rank when many of his friends, his men on on truck haven't. But mostly it just makes him feel weak, So when he is finally able to go back to work to finally be able to be his old self he struggles to realise he might not be able to. His brain wont let him concentrate and he feels like he is no longer the amazing firefighter he was. In fact, he feels like he never was. The people around him realise and don't know what to do</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matthew Casey &amp; Kelly Severide, Stella Kidd/Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett &amp; Kelly Severide, Sylvie Brett &amp; Matthew Casey, Wallace Boden &amp; Matthew Casey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Arson is an enemy of mine.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this is set in like season 9 but I don't know when. There will be links to the other Chicago shows but not all the characters in the other shows will because I only really watch Chicago fire the rest I watch passively for the crossovers. This is my first fanfic so be kind. i have an over arching plot that is quite cool and its going to delve into the effects of losing the people your supposed to be in charge of and protect because honestly I wasn't a fan of how the show dealt with Otis's death or any characters death it just felt a bit meh? its going to have its own plot line that after the ambo crash its an au where basically I just want to write Gianna as a cool character and someone who is pretty much going to be me not what the show writes her as but I'll probably use some of their ideas. I don't know if anyone is reading this but if you are hi and ill start the story :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Smoke piled into the room jumping over itself to fill the space, to assert its dominance over the good clean air. This was smoke and it could make even the strongest choke and burn from the inside out. It plastered itself on the walls sinking its teeth into them, stripping them bare to be vulnerable to attack by the flames that birthed the smoke. A figure not visible through the darkness of the ash filled air wandered through courageously, the figure split the air with its arms. However there was no success in breaking the abyss now swallowing him whole.<br/>
The figure searched blindly in the dark for a life, for the missing victim that he had a duty to save. A mans life depended on the figure and he could not let him down.
 'Where are you? I need to find you. I cannot let another person get hurt, not again, not ever again' the figure thought to himself, berating his past self. 
 <br/>
<br/>


Deeper and deeper the figure journeyed into the abyss. Danger surrounded him, he was left entirely vulnerable to an enemy that could kill every living thing easily, mercilessly, emotionlessly. A door blocked the figure but through the darkening glass the figure's eyes darted about spotting the victim and the beam that pinned them down. 
 <br/>
<br/>


Only two things went through the figure's mind; one - thank god he found the victim, he has a chance now and two - shit, he's trapped under a support beam, that means the building's structure is collapsing there isn't enough time. 
 <br/>
<br/>

Pin point pupils in the figure's deep ocean eyes bounced around his surroundings, seeing what his options are. While looking object to object hot smoke crept its way into the figure's gear.<br/>
Following every instinct he had that told him to, the figure broke down the barrier separating him and the helpless victim. Boot marks on the door quickly disappeared as the smoke patched itself up. Daggers of wood flew in the air spiralling like a ballerina with a death wish. Rushing to the victim trapped under the thing they once called a home, the figure knew he was running out of time. He knew that this rescue could very quickly become a recovery if he was not fast enough.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>

He could feel his heart thumping in his hands as tried with all his might to lift the beam. His breath grew short as he repeatedly lifted. He let out a heavy sigh when he had to stop as the floorboards beneath his feet began to creak and moan in pain as the weight and pressure increased. Struggling to think of what to do the figure reached down to the victim to try and pull him out but there was no success as the victim just stayed stuck to the floor the smoke had turned to cement and glued the victim to the floor and the beam, like a child would with paper and sticks. Naively the figure just kept trying to pry the lifeless sack that was once a body free.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>


Just below the figure's feet flames licked the underneath of the floorboards. Tasting the wood drove the flames into a frenzy. They leapt higher and higher than each other. The flames craved the wood to fuel them, to fuel the addiction they had. Hunger from deep within them dictated their every move. Growing hotter and hotter spiralling out of control clawing their way up walls and furniture to get a bite. Their tongues pierced through the floor and were now tasting the rubber of a fireman's boot. The taste caused the flames to retreat momentarily before they came back with a vengeance like no other. The flames where no longer hungry... they were starved. 
 <br/>
<br/>


The frenzy for the floor was over as the flames set their sight on the meat. Like insects the flames converged on one spot turning on each other. Every flame competing to be the victor to have control of the prize. A race was underway for the fireman's life and he was completely oblivious to it, he had a job to do and he didn't care if he died doing it.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>


But as the floor beneath him collapsed releasing him into the jaws of the fire all he could feel was the fear taking hold, not the pain or the adrenaline.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>

His heavy gear pulled him down through the floor faster than he'd want it to. His feet were already in the flames when his brain realised what happened and soon everything seemed to slow down. The fireman's sense of time completely gone. His eyelids heavy one second then shooting up the next in pure horror and realisation.
 <br/>
<br/>

 He wasn't aware how long he had been laying there defenceless until his PASS alarm started to scream at him. Its sounds making his head hurt more than necessary. He tried to get up, to move and get himself out. Looking around was pretty much all he could do though, like some cruel hand of fate the beam that trapped the victim he didn't save now trapped him. 
 <br/>
<br/>

It felt like a snake was pressing down on his chest, constricting his airway. It just kept pressing its weight down onto him waiting until his heart was a pin prick from the surface so it could sink its teeth into him and drink in its success. Drink in the sweet nectar the flames had so desperately desired. Whilst the pain of the beam distracted him the flames had taken the chance to gorge themselves on the victim.<br/>
The fireman looked out in horror to the sight he will never be able to get used to he didn't have the luxury of being able to forget things easily when it became etched into a specific part of his brain. A part of his brain that likes to contort his dreams into his own personal hell. He looked at the person he failed as their face disappeared in flames. Skin charring or peeling off as the flames ripped at it. Some parts of the persons face had no skin at all, instead the bone was splintering in the dry heat. This wasn't the worst thing the fireman had seen on the job, at least if he really tried he could pretend that it wasn't a person he was looking at... But some part of him always knew. 

 <br/>
<br/>

He knew he would always remember how he failed. Stupidly he knew that the next few days he would look for the identity of the person he let down, it was his way of punishing himself for being a failure. He would always think of how he deserved to feel pain for not doing his job. No matter how many times someone would tell him he did his job, he would always correct them in his head by saying he didn't - never having the courage to say it out loud. He knew if he said it out loud there would be no getting better.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey if you have any notes on how to format better I'd appreciate if you told me and you'll work out I don't like specific povs. :) but anyway if you've read my story thank you so much because it means a lot if you liked it enough you want part two I've already wrote some of it so it should be up next week I'll try uploading weekly even if nobody is reading this because i enjoy writing this and how I wish things would have gone.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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